including smartphones and tablets. the first plan of its kind. share everything. only from verizon. get $100 off select motorola 4g lte smartphones like the droid razr. welcome back, everybody. we're going to continue to monitor what's happening with hurricane isaac right here in the city of new orleans and the outskirts as well. carol costello will pick up our coverage on "cnn newsroom" and i'll see you back here tomorrow morning starting at 7:00 a.m. eastern time. we'll update you on the aftermath as this hurricane roars through. carol, to you. >> stay safe. thanks, soledad. good morning and thank you for joining us. i'm carol costello. this morning a special edition of "wsroom." two major stories unfolding this hour. mitt romney locks down the republican nomination, but this

morning all the buzz is about who really stole the show. but first, hurricane isaac unloads its fury. floodwaters are rising,nd rescues are lagging far behind. so let's quickly bring you up to speed on isaac and the conditions that are living up to some of the worst fears. a levee in plaquemines parish is overtopped. that is as serious as a breach which is a structural failure, but it can undermine the strength of the levee. the overtopping is occurring in an 18-mile stretch, and emergency officials are warning of significant deep flooding. that is already happening. parish president says some homes are under as much as 14 feet of water. also this morning, we're hearing from one family who did not heed the warnings to evacuate that parish. the floodwaters have chased them to the attic where they are stranded with their baby. listen to this heart-wrenching phone conversation with cnn affiliate wwl.

>> right now, i'm in my attic with my wife and my year and a half old baby. the local police came around about 2:00 in the morning and told us the levee broke. and within an hour, the water was coming up. i barely got my vehicle to the levee. and the river levee is dry. but the water came up so quick. it looks like we lost everything. if i have to, i'm going to have to shoot a hole in my attic here to get out on our roof. >> plaquemines parish president billy nungesser explains why that overtopped levee was not upgraded after hurricane katrina. >> this is a levee that is a parish levee that was left out of the federal system. so we were spending parish money to raise it to give them a fighting chance. we just needed a couple more years, and it doesn't look like

we got that. >> we're going to talk to billy nungesser a little later in the hour. stick around. in new orleans, the newly rebuilt and fortified levee system is holding up to its biggest test yet. but as i just told you, the worst is not over. the city could see 20 inches of rain and extensive flooding. cnn meteorologist rob marciano is live in new orleans. this new levee system, this was built by the army corps of engineers, unlike the levee in plaquemines parish that we're talking about that was overtopped. so is the army corps of engineers' levees holding? >> reporter: so far, that's the word we're getting, so good. i'm sure the water in some spots is getting close to the top. but some of those walls are -- go as deep as 40 feet in the ground, and some of them as high as 40 feet into the air, not to mention the actual barrier that goes across lake bourne that is basically a two-mile seawall. so that's holding up.

the pumps, though, i bet the pumps are having a hard time dealing with all this rain. they are only designed to take about an inch per hour. we have sustained winds now for a good 68 miles an hour. that has been for 13 hours for a row now. we are in the port of new orleans, and the port is closed, for sure. near the port is this facility. it's a big mardi gras facility where they have mardi gras events, weddings, no doubt about it. the outside, though, they have got this structure which is meant to house -- bolted into the concrete. they are being lifted up. the canvas canopy obviously being torn apart. stage lighting dangling from there. so piece-by-piece, that is coming apart. downwind of us, at least for now, so we're in a good spot to highlight that. mississippi river, this was flowing the wrong way yesterday. winds have shifted somewhat, so now we are getting whitecaps

banging up against this, the east side of the river. the west bank, by the way, the bridge that takes you over to the west bank, those lights went out last night. 70% of the people here are without power. that's about all in all in louisiana almost half a million people without power. in st. john the baptist, because of the overwash that we're seeing from lake pontchartrain, they are shutting down the water supply right now for fear of that being contaminated up there north of the city. so a whole bunch of issues in and around the new orleans area. not to mention what's going on down there in plaquemines parish. and we still have several more hours of this kind of weather to contend with. >> i was just going to ask you, isaac is sort of parked over the state of louisiana right now. right? >> reporter: yeah. and, you know, like two or three times now, it's just flat out stalled into doing nothing. at best it's been drifting northwest at about 5, 6 miles an hour. so that we didn't expect. we knew it would be slow.

but we didn't expect it to just hit the brakes like that. that means this kind of rainfall is just going to pile up. and basically we ramped up the forecast for how much rain we'll see. in many spots, easily more than 20 inches of rainfall from here all the way to the mississippi coastline. and within the city limits, the pumps that are only designed to pump out an inch an hour, they'll have a hard time keeping up. >> i wondered how long his shot would last. we'll try to get back to rob when that shot goes back up again. wherever you drive in the u.s., you are being affected by hurricane isaac. gas prices spiked nearly five cents overnight, and people in the southeast are actually seeing larger jumps than that at the pump. maribel is at the new york stock exchange for us. this is incredible. it jumps five cents in just one day? >> hi, carol. yeah, it was a huge jump. in fact, the biggest one-day spike in prices since february of 2011. that's when fighting in libya

raised concerns about oil supplies. the national average for a gallon of regular is now $3.87. and as you mentioned, we are seeing big jumps also in the southeast. prices in kentucky and georgia jumped eight cents overnight, and prices are up five cents in louisiana. so what's pushing up gas prices so much here? well, eight gulf coast refineries shut down or ended up cutting back production preparing for the storm. and those eight refineries alone, they account for about 1/8 of the nation's refining capacity. so it's the law of supply and demand, carol, with less gas on the market, prices are rising. >> so this storm is literally parked over the gulf coast. it's moving at an agonizingly slow pace. does this mean we could see higher gas prices yet? >> well, carefol, it depends ho fast the refineries come back online. if there's no major storm damage, then prices may only rise a few more days as things

get back to normal. but if the refineries do sustain damage, well, that's a whole other story. so hopefully that's not the case. you know, we saw wholesale gasoline prices already starting to drop. but even if the worst is avoided, carol, it may still be sometime before we get any relief at the pump. one analyst puts it this way. prices tend to rise faster on the way up than they fall on the way down. carol? >> so is it going to affect the southeastern portion of the united states more than in other parts of the country? >> well, again, you know, this is -- refinery production, 40%, is in the gulf area. so that's impacting not just the southeast but the entire country. the one bit of bright news i do want to share, carol, is that with summer coming to an end here, refineries will stop ending up making what's called summer blend of gasoline, which ends up costing more. so hopefully we'll see some relief at least with that at the pump. >> maribel aber from the new

york stock exchange, thank you. you can get the latest information on hurricane isaac including satellite imagery, the forecast track, and more at cnn.com/hurricane. if you've been in theath of hurricane isaac or felt its effects, we invite you to share your photos, video, and experience at cnnireport.com. ann romney gave one of the biggest speeches of the republican national convention last night. it was all about her husband. she was electric. >> tonight, i want to talk to you about love. >> you will hear more from the woman who could be the nation's next first lady.

a little bit more about isaac. i want to let you know exactly where it is and what exactly it's doing. it's a category 1 storm. it's kind of stalled over louisiana. it's moving very slowly. 6 miles per hour. it started to slow down around 3:15 this morning. in the wee hours of the morning. it was actually moving at about 8 miles per hour. then it's down to 6 now.

winds, 80 miles per hour. but they are gusting up to 100 miles per hour. of course, another part of our country that's being affected is mississippi. david mattingly is in gulfport right now. he's being dumped on there by isaac. david, tell us what it's like. >> reporter: well, carol, i'm trying to find a new way to describe it. but i can't. we've had relentless tropical storm conditions on the mississippi coast since midnight. and the rain at times is still very, very strong. everyone revising their estimates about rainfall, about storm surge, everything else, about flooding just because of how slow this storm is moving. everybody thought isaac would be just about done with the mississippi coast by now. but we are nowhere near finished with this storm. the wind picking up again right now. one of -- another one of those

bands coming in. i want you to take a look at the gulf of mexico behind me. this part of the gulf on a clear day, on a calm day, that would look like a lake back there behind me, it would be so smooth. you can see how churned up it is right now. the beach is completely overtaken by the water. and we're watching to see what's going to happen at high tide, and when these easterly winds change and come around from the south. then we're going to see then how much water isaac is going to try to push onshore. we haven't seen the real full effect of the storm surge here yet, and we're waiting to see what that high tide is going to do. and that's going to be a couple of hours from now. and as you can see, as the wind is picking up here, if we continue to have this kind of wind coming from the south, you can bet we're going to see a lot more water, perhaps hitting the seawall here and perhaps coming up onto the highway at some points along the coast here.

but right now, officials just bracing, waiting to find out when the storm is going to be over so thatey can get out ther and start doing their damage assessments. there is flooding all over the place in the usual low-lying areas. the question is, how much flooding will there be when isaac reaches its peak? and we don't think we are there yet. >> david mattingly reporting live from gulfport, mississippi. thank you. now to politics. love, respect, and we built that. three things republicans hope were the big take aways from ann romney's big night at the party's convention. and it was mrs. romney's night. many analysts say she was electric. and evoking the spirit of al and tipper gore but maybe not with the same enthusiasm. mitt romney kissed his wife after her debut on the national stage. don't know if tonight's speakers can match ann romney's passion,

but essential condoleezza rice and paul ryan will give it a try. back to mrs. romney, though. she had a tough assignment. appeal to women and paint a picture of her husband as a caring, warm, strong man. mission accomplished? let's listen. >> when mitt and i met and fell in love, we were determined not to let anything stand in the way of our life together. i was an episcopalian. he was a mormon. we were very young, both still in college. there were many reasons to delay marriage. and you know what? we just didn't care. we got married and moved into a basement apartment. [ cheers and applause ] >> we walked to class together. shared the housekeeping. ate a lot of pasta and tuna fish. our desk was a door propped up on saw horses. our dining room table was a fold down ironing board in the kitchen. but those were the best days.

then our first son came along. all at once, i'm 22 years old with a baby and a husband who's going to business school and law school at the same time. and i can tell you, probably like every other girl who finds herself in a new life far from family and friends, with a new baby and a new husband, that it dawned on me that i had absolutely no idea what i was getting into. [ laughter ] >> well, that was 42 years ago. i've survived. we now have five sons and 18 beautiful grandchildren. [ cheers and applause ] >> i'm still in love with that boy i met at a high school dance, and he still makes me laugh. [ applause ] >> i read somewhere that mitt and i have a storybook marriage. well, let me tell you something, in the storybooks i read, there

never were long, long rainy winter afternoons in a house with five boys screaming at once. [ laughter ] >> and those storybooks never seemed to have chapters called ms or breast cancer. a storybook marriage? no, not at all. what mitt romney and i have is a real marriage. sometimes i think that late at night, if we were all silent, for just a few moments and listen carefully, we could hear a collective sigh from the moms and dads across america who made it through another day. and know that they'll make it through another one tomorrow. but in the end of that day moment, they just aren't sure how. and if you listen carefully, you'll hear the women sighing a little bit more than the men. it's how it is, isn't it? it's the moms who have always had to work a little harder to make everything right. it's the moms of this nation,

single, married, widowed, who really hold this country together. we're the mothers. we're the wives. we're the grandmothers. we're the big sisters. we're the little sisters. and we are the daughters. you know it's true, don't you? [ applause ] >> i love you women! [ cheers and applause ] >> and i hear your voices. if the last four years had been more successful, do we really think there would be this attack on mitt romney's success? >> no! >> of course not. mitt would be the first to tell you that he is the most fortunate man in the world. he had two loving parents who gave him strong values and taught him the value of work. he had the chance to get the education his father never had. but, as his partner on this amazing journey, i can tell you

that mitt romney was not handed success. he built it. [ cheers and applause ] >> we do want to break ann romney's speech down and get a look at the big picture. two of our best political analysts will be here after the break to talk all about that. and just a reminder, cnn's primetime convention coverage continues tonight at 7:00 eastern with wolf blitzer. we'll be right back. ♪ i can do anything ♪ i can do anything today ♪ i can go anywhere ♪ i can go anywhere today ♪ la la la la la la la [ male announcer ] dow solutions help millions of people by helping to make gluten free bread that doesn't taste gluten free. together, the elements of science and the human element can solve anything. solutionism. the new optimism.

now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question for you this morning, did the gop make a case for mitt romney? tuesday night was the night voters were to fall in love with mitt romney. new jersey governor chris christie, and ann romney, tried. >> this is important. i want to you hear what i'm going to say. mitt doesn't like to talk about how he has helped others because he sees it as a privilege. not a political talking point.

>> ann romney was electric, strong, and stunning. and she got a standing ovation. matt dredge called her mrs. america. yet although it was clear ann romney loves her husband, some say she missed an opportunity to tell us something about mitt romney we didn't already know. peggy noonan, who wrote speeches for ronald reagan, blogged, she, ann romney, failed to make it new, and so she failed to make it real. as for the keynote speaker, chris christie, it took him almost 20 minutes to even mention the presidential nominee. really. christie's speech seemed more like a showcase for his take no holds barred style than a tribute to romney. >> our leaders today have decided it's more important to be popular, to say and do what's easy, and say yes rather than to say no, when no is what is required. the people of new jersey stepped up. they shared in the sacrifice. and you know what else they did? they rewarded politicians who led instead of politicians who

pandered. [ applause ] >> still, the crowd loved him. and the crowd really loved ann romney. but do they now love mitt? so the talk back question for you today, did the gop make its case for mitt romney? facebook.com/carolcnn. your responses later this hour. the gop convention last night was marked by a rousing speech. you heard some of it from the new jersey governor, chris christie. here's some more. >> if you're willing to stand up with me for america's future, i will stand up with you. if you're willing to fight with me for mitt romney, i will fight with you. [ applause ] >> when you hear christie's speech, you may wonder, as i alluded to, who it was really about.

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tampa is roland martin, a cnn political analyst, and syndicated columnist who leans left, and anna navarro a cnn contributor and republican strategist. hi, roland. hi, anna. >> we don't lean anything. we just simply give our viewpoint, and we just call it like it is, so -- >> wait. wait. carol, carol -- >> anna leans back. >> carol, you've got a green flower. look at this. he's got salmon little flower. >> it's a pocket square. >> it's going to get wilted under the tv lights. >> everybody doesn't have style like i do. it's ok, anna. >> thank god for that, too, roland. >> you got that right. >> do you think he stands out at a republican convention, you'd be right. >> i'm a black man at a republican convention. of course i stand out. >> oh, stop that. stop that. let's talk big picture. tuesday night was all about making voters love mitt romney. so anna, did it work? >> well, we know ann romney loves mitt romney. that part surely worked.

i think she did what she had to do. she talked about her husband, the father of her children, the man she knows personally. she talked about their love affair. and i think it worked for the people that liked mitt romney and like ann romney. i happen to like ann romney very much. i think it didn't work for the people that don't. but i think she did what she had to do. you know, was it subtle? no. but do we have time for subtlety? no. we have to talk to women. we have to talk about mitt romney, personalize him, and eave got two months left. she did what she had to do, and i think she did it well. she got a rousing applause, and a great response from within the party. >> i will say this, ana. i learned more about mitt romney from gloria borger's interview than i did from this speech. most of what ann romney said kind of already knew. didn't she need, roland, to say something different about her husband? >> no. because first of all, the documentary by gloria borger was

an hour long, and this was a 15 or 20-minute speech. but the issue really is not -- and first of all, let's be clear. she gave a very good speech that painted the picture in terms of their marriage. the problem is not ann romney painting that picture. the problem is going to be can mitt romney do it. this is very similar, i think, to then senator obama in 2008, where michelle obama was extremely effective in terms of describing a different side of him. it's up to the politician, the person who we're voting for, to be able to say this is how i connect with you. the advice they would give mitt romney is study your wife's speech, and realize that when you're able to tell more of your personal story, people will then say, oh, i do identify with you. i remember interviewing bishop tj jakes. people talk about him preaching all across the world, 30,000 members, and his house and his cars. but there was a time when he had 50 members, and he dug ditches, and his wife was on food stamps to feed the family.

he said, that also was bishop td jakes. so if you want for someone to know the whole story, you have to tell the whole story. mitt romney needs to do more of that, if he wants people to say he relates and connects with me. >> well, he'll have his chance. i want to move on to another topic. i wanted to talk about the republicans and their featured speakers. most of them were young. many of them were not white. ted cruz, nikki haley. republicans say this is the new republican party. is it? anna? >> well, the republicans have been saying this is the new republican party every time they have one of these conventions. it's not a question of who you put on the stage to give a speech. it's who is voting for you at the ballot box. >> all right, carol. now introduce me as roland so i can answer. >> when you look at the numbers, the bottom line is, the question is you can have artur davis,

with that ridiculous speech last night, and mia love, she is running for congress. but you have to connect with the voters as opposed to this and that person here. that's where the rubber meets the road. >> i want you to weigh in, anna, and i have to say that mia love kind of stole the show yesterday. but go on, ana. >> i think you're seeing these diverse faces onstage because they are part of the party, they are winning elections as part of the party. whether my friend roland likes it or not -- >> well, mia hasn't won as a republican. >> calm down, take your meds and let me get some time in. the fact is we have got the -- the republicans have got five elected statewide office holders to your one. you have bob menendez. we have five republican rising stars that are hispanic. we have marco rubio. suzanna martinez. brian sandoval. and they are not niche hispanics

or niche minorities. so we have to put them onstage. >> get some mi moesas and carry on. thank you so much. i have to move on. tonight the headliner at the gop convention is paul ryan. he'll be coming after big names like condoleezza rice and mike huckabee. we'll see if ryan can top last night's keynote speaker, chris christie. christie's speech pumped up the crowd. in fact, it almost seemed like he was running for president. it took him more than 15 minutes before he mentioned mitt romney's name. and christie also took no time in going for the jugular. he spent the majority of his speech attacking democrats, and he focused on what he called the hard truths. >> let me be clear with the american people tonight. here's what we believe as republicans, and what they believe as democrats. we believe in telling hard working families the truth about our country's fiscal realities. telling them what they already know. the math of federal spending

does not add up. with $5 trillion in debt, added over the last four years, we have no other option but to make the hard choices. cut federal spending, and fundamentally reduce the size of this government. [ applause ] >> want to know what they believe? they believe that the american people don't want to hear the truth about the extent of our fiscal difficulties. they believe the american people need to be coddled by big government. they believe that the american people are content to live the lie with them. they're wrong. we believe in telling our seniors the truth about our overburdened entitlements. we know seniors not only want these programs to survive, but they just as badly want them secured for their grandchildren. our seniors are not selfish.

[ applause ] >> here's what they believe. they believe seniors will always put themselves ahead of their grandchildren. and here's what they do. they prey on their vulnerabilities and scare them with misinformation for the single, cynical purpose of winning the next election. here's their plan. whistle a happy tune while driving us off the fiscal cliff. as long as they are behind the wheel of power, when we fall. [ applause ] >> now we believe that the majority of teachers in america know our system must be reformed to put students first so that america can compete. teachers don't teach to become rich or famous. they teach because they love children. we believe -- [ applause ] >> we believe that we should honor and reward the good ones,

while doing what's best for our nation's future. demanding accountability, demanding higher standards, and demanding the best teacher in every classroom in america. [ applause ] >> get ready. here's what they believe. they believe that the educational establishment will always put themselves ahead of children, that self-interest will always trump common sense. they believe in pitting unions against teachers, educators against parents, lobbyists against children. they believe in teachers unions. we believe in teachers. [ applause ]

>> we believe -- we believe that if we tell the people the truth, that they will act bigger than the pettiness we see in washington, d.c. we believe it's possible to forge bipartisan compromise and stand up for our conservative principles. [ applause ] >> so let's talk to someone who is not a delegate, and not an analyst, but a voter. skip becker is joining us from harrisbu harrisburg, pennsylvania. he is a semiretired small businessman, registered republican, and he has had concerns about mitt romney in the past. skip, welcome. >> thank you. thank you, it's good to be here. >> nice to talk to you again. i talked with you during the primaries. you're a republican. you've told me you want a man with a plan. >> yes. >> tuesday night, though, was the night that we were all supposed to fall in love with mitt romney. did you? >> well, i think to an extent, mitt romney continues to evolve.

i'm not sure at this point that he has achieved that level of leadership that everybody around him would like him to have. so i'm still gaining momentum. but bit by bit. yeah. >> do you have a clear picture of who mitt romney is? >> it's conflicted. the picture i have, at least the picture that ann romney painted for us last night, was a struggling young man and a young bride, making their way into the world. but we have to remember that this is the son of george romney. this young man may in fact be struggling, but i don't think there are a lot of people around him who are going to allow him to fall as many young men perhaps before him and under other circumstances have.

so i think at this point, they want me to believe that he is sort of just a normal person, when in fact i think we all know and believe that he is a cut above. he has a safety net that many americans simply don't have. >> i know you love chris christie. during chris christie's speech, it took chris christie such a long time to even mention mitt romney's name. he went on for 16 minutes. what did you think of chris christie's speech? >> well, i thought it was remarkable. and even more so i think that it's remarkability was reflected in governor romney's -- or president nominee romney's face as the cameras cut to him, listening to the speech. i don't see that he was especially happy.

i just see -- i see this dynamic speaker, standing there, telling me and many more republicans of my attitude, exactly what we want to hear. i'm not sure that -- i'm not sure that governor christie did what he was supposed to do. >> ok. so short answer, because i've got to go. so do you have your mind made up? will you vote for mitt romney? >> don't know yet. you know, i really want to know what he's going to do. this is theater we saw last night. it's theater we'll see for the next couple of nights. and indeed we'll see the same for the democratic convention. >> i know. i know. >> i want to see some substance. >> you wt to see a man with a plan. >> i want to see some substance. >> skip becker, thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to talk with us.

we appreciate it. >> you're welcome. cnn's primetime coverage continues tonight at 7:00 eastern with wolf blitzer. republican vice presidential nominee paul ryan will talk at 10:00 p.m. eastern. ryan in primetime. piers morgan will wrap up the convention's second full day. [ female announcer ] ready for a taste of what's hot?

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let's talk more about hurricane isaac because it's causing flooding. severe flooding south of new orleans. this is video coming out of plaquemines parish. as you can se rescue workers are going from home to home rescuing people. we talked earlier with a man and his family, including a baby, trapped in his attic. he was trying to figure out how to get out because most of his house was underwater. apparently, this type of scene is playing out south of new orleans in plaquemines parish. hurricane isaac is sort of parked right over louisiana. maybe as much as 20 inches of rain will fall. let's head live to new orleans now and check in with marty savidge. he's in the tourism district. martin, tell us what's going on. >> reporter: well, carol, you know, the situation you were talking about, plaquemines parish, that is due to what they

call an overtop situation. the pressure, the wind blowing against water, causes it to overtop the levee much like water overflowing a about thbat. you can understand that winds and rain like this, emergency crews are not going to be able to get out there and perform rescues. so if those folks are going to be helped, it's going to be the neighbors that will do it. and that is the way it's done in louisiana. here in new orleans, though, i guess you could say it's so far, so good. this was an all-night storm. clearly it's going to be an all-day storm. and that's the thing with isaac. we found this in haiti. you wondered when the storm was going to arrive. very slow mover. very difficult making up its mind. and then you wondered when is it ever going to leave. same situation here. hours and hours yet to go. lots of water coming down. and of course in a city that is mostly underwater, that's your biggest concern. the army corps of engineers says that the levees are doing ok. they should. they spent a lot of money on them. and let's face it, this is only a category 1.

they were built to withstand up to at least a category 3. but here is the thing, carol. the wind is going to change because as the storm moves, and that's going to cause different stress in different places. we'll have to keep an eye on the levees, and you bet everyone will. >> martin savidge, thank you so much, reporting live from new orleans. let's get a forecast now there jennifer delgado. the storm is moving so slowly. >> it is. and a couple of hours ago it was stationary. we are seeing some improvement in that. the center of circulation looks like a good part of it is making interaction with land. a lot of the stronger bands are still working into areas. you can see through mobile as well as southern parts of mississippi, and of course through new orleans. we'll continue to see those heavier downpours. and we still are also dealing with a tornado watch in place. it looks like until 4:00 central time. but showing you on the satellite imagery, still some gusts up to 100 miles an hour. that's why you are seeing scenes with marty and rob coming out of

there still dealing with rough conditions. we'll continue to see those hurricane conditions affecting parts of new orleans as well as that southern part of louisiana as we go through the next couple of hours. want to track this. the center of circulation won't actually make it out of louisiana. and it looks like not until very late thursday. making its way into the border of arkansas it looks like on friday. so this is going to be a big rain maker. we're talking 10 to 20 inches of rainfall in some of the locations. big time flooding carol. mitt romney says he'll repeal obama care if he wins the white house. but what would romney put in its place? we'll talk about his plan for seniors, next. [ male announcer ] if you stash tissues like a squirrel stashes nuts, you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® liquid gels.

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mitt romney says if he's elected, we will repeal obama care on day one. we are looking at what romney would do to replace it.

one provision allows seniors on medicare to get discounts on some prescription drugs. it closes the doughnut hole, right? so, tell us how mitt romney would handle that part of obama care. >> let's talk about this doughnut hole. obama care says to seniors at a certain level, hey, we are going give you help, a 50% discount on prescription drugs. we talked to a romney official and this official said well, that would be undone. we would reverse obama care and the discounts go away. what do we replace it with? >> a lot of seniors are upset about the doughnut hole. >> it's a big gap there. seniors are upset about it. a couple arguments, the main argument is, look, they say the obama care takes $700 billion worth of cuts out of medicare.

when they reverse it, the cuts go away. they are saying forget about the doughnut hole for a second, these $700 billion of cuts in obama care could put the very program in jeopardy. i'm going to quote a romney campaign official. this person said a senior in the doughnut hole is still better off without obama care because, again, those cuts do so much damage to medicare the whole program might go away. two fact checks say this is simply not true and the cuts are savings, if we want to use that word and doesn't threaten medicare or its services. >> elizabeth cohen, many thanks to you. the question this morning, did the gop make a case for mitt romney? so many responses. we'll have some of them next. ♪ express yourself [ female announcer ] why not try coffee-mate? with over 25 delicious flavors for a fraction of the cost of the coffee house.

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your responses, the talk back question. i like mitt and ann, they are humble people. i'm done with obama's mr. cool act. he's made the best case for romney. four years of failure, hard to defend. they continue to make the case, they have nothing new, nothing exciting or believable. this is from george, absolutely did. i cannot wait for the vice president debate. the next big event, i cannot miss. this is from belinda, i would vote for chris christie and romney ticket. facebook.com/carol if you would like to continue the conversation.

news room starts after the break. [ male announcer ] if you stash tissues like a squirrel stashes nuts, you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® liquid gels. nothing starts working faster than zyrtec® at relieving your allergy symptoms for 24 hours. zyrtec®. love the air.

good morning to you. thank you so much for joining me this morning. i'm carol kos till low. a special edition of news room. we are watching two stories unfold, mitt romney and the republican nomination. this morning the buzz is about who really stole the show. hurricane isaac unfolds its

fury. rescues lagging far behind. let's bring you up to speed on isaac and the flooding that's dredging up painful memories of hurricane katrina. hurricane katrina struck seven years ago today. right now, hurricane isaac is over louisiana and it is barely moving, dumping massive amounts of rain. some areas could see two feet of rain when all is said and done. plaquemines parish south of new orleans floodwaters are washing over a levee and swallowing homes. in some areas, the water is 14 feet deep and rising. we are going to hear from one family that did not evacuate. floodwaters chased them to their attic where they remain stranded with their baby. >> right now, i'm in my attic with my wife and my year and a half-year-old baby. the local police came around about 2:00 in the morning and

told us the levee broke. within an hour, water was coming up. i barely got my vehicle to the levee. the real levee is dry. but the water came up so quick. it looks like we lost everything. if i have to, i'm gonna have to shoot a hole in the attic to get out on the roof. >> the family, at last check, still waiting to be rescued. according to the parish president, they may be waiting for quite some time. >> we are trying to get a few people that stayed behind out. the roads are completely unpassable. there are a couple people stuck on the roads. we hope in the storm we wouldn't stay out there that long. we keep pumping the water up on the levee. there's only so much it can take. not only did we see the worst case scenario, it got worse than that. all of it came out there.

so, the levee's can only take so much. >> meteorologist rob marciano is in new orleans. rob, the new orleans levee system, which is different from plaquemines parish levee system, is it keeping up with the storm? >> reporter: yeah, so far, so good. talking with the army core of engineers and city officials -- >> i knew we lost him. it's hard to maintain a live shot in the middle of a hurricane. go ahead, rob, we can hear you again. >> reporter: you got me? all right, so -- >> i think it's going to be like that all day. let's head over to the weather center and check in with jennifer delgado. there's a bit of bright news. >> we are seeing improvement out of the system. it is weakening. we have a new advisory that came out moments ago. we know now it is 75 miles per hour. as i show you on the graphic

here and as we start off on the graphic, right now, the wind is at 75. it's going to move slowly, carol. we saw rob's liveshot. he's located roughly 40 miles from the center of circulation so very gusty conditions. hurricane conditions are going to continue across that region throughout the afternoon. i want to point out to you, it's not going to move much. the center of circulation is not going to exit out of louisiana until friday. that's when it starts to approach parts of southern arkansas. now, the winds we saw in rob's live shot, 60, 70, 67. certainly, conditions are gusty there. as we take you back over to the radar, i want to point out quickly, we have two tornado warnings in place. you can see for areas we do know now in the northeastern part of mississippi, anywhere you are seeing this fuschia box, we will look at potential for storms to -- i should say some of the

storms produce tornadoes. make sure you are at low ground because we do have a tornado watch in place for really until 4:00 this afternoon. carol? >> we are talking central time. >> we are talking central time. >> a lot of rain headed this way. >> the storm is weakening? >> it is. it's going to expire but the rain and flooding is going to last through tomorrow. that's the big story. ten to 20 inches, of course some of these areas with high tide storm surge is going to make matters worse. >> let's try to go back to new orleans where rob marciano is. hey, rob? >> reporter: hi, carol. the wind around this structure are certainly swirling and gusting. our satellite truck is here in a corner. there are times when the wind sweeps arnds the corner and lifts it up. in new orleans, this is a

facility that not only houses a massive amount of mardi gras gear, but mardi gras balls, events inside and outside. this is the outside structure. steel beams that are bolted down to the concrete. you wouldn't expect those to move. you obviously expect the canvas to be ripped off. in some cases the steel beams have been lifted up. we are keeping an eye on that. winds switched. here is the river. winds were going this way last night pushing the water up river, now winds are coming out of the east. you can see white caps there coming out of the east and bashing up this side of the wall. by the way, the river up here is not going to over top. the levee that protects the city of new orleans is not going to over top. the flow is low to begin with. the levee that surrounds the city that's been beefed up by

the feds is holding up fine, from what we have been told. lots of flooded streets. we are going to continue to see that. there's lots of debris on the roads. trees down, power lines down. 70% of the city without power. we'll continue to see that with these winds. as far as what's going on at plaquemines parish, they are privately held levees that are lower for the most part. they have been overtopped and continue to be overtopped. hopefully, they don't go to a full out break where we get a hole. then we are talking another scenario. several people are trapped in some cases. i talked with the coast guard, the guys that gave me a lift the other day. they are coordinating rescue missions but they can't fly this this stuff. they need winds to be less than 50 miles per hour. visibility has to be better. the choppers are on the ground and are not going anywhere until

the winds and rain begin to lighten up. it's not going to happen anymore too soon. carol? >> rob, i'm glad we got the chance to talk to you. i want to talk more about new orleans and the levees. retired army general joins us from baton rouge, louisiana. he coordinated the military response in the wake of hurricane katrina. hi, general. >> good morning, carol. >> we have been talked about a family trapped. a baby is crying in the background. there was a mandatory evacuation. when you hear stories like that, what goes through your mind? >> most unfortunate. i feel sorry for them. the bright side of this is they have some of the best boatsmen in the world there in plaque n

plaquemines parish. i'm sure as soon as they can those local fishermen are going to get in and get them out. >> i hope so. the man said he was going to shoot a hole in the attic. what did he mean by that? >> there's reports people did that during hurricane katrina. they didn't have an ax. they would shoot through the ceiling to try to get out. it's probably another thing we recommend, if you are in a shelter, have a capacity to get to the ceiling. >> you are right, they do a great job down there in new orleans. let's talk about the levees in plaquemines parish. the water is over top the levees. if it continues to build, they would breech. why did they decide to build the

levees on their own? >> plaquemines parish like many places in the united states when you look at the floodplains along the mississippi river and florida, they have developed lands in what all of our previous generations knew as floodplains. that being said, that's local parish and county officials approving that structure to be built there. it's no wonder when you get a good price on the lot, get flood insurance on it. i doubt any of those homes have flood insurance. they are not protected by a levee system. they are in a flood zone. that is not the only place in the united states we have that problem. >> so the levees in new orleans, the ones built by the army corps of engineers, how are they

working? >> they are doing a great job. this storm hanging around, continuing to push that water. right now, the tidal surge has not challenged the levees. we are better off than during gustav and hurricane katrina. this time, seven years ago, i can remember sitting there and i went back to look at the time line for katrina and what we were doing and first army at the time. we thought new orleans dodged the bullet. sometime later, we figured out there was a breach. we have a lot of storm left to deal with. everyone has to stay and listen to what the government is telling them. hunker down, stay in place. look out for your neighbors. >> general, thank you so much for being here with us this morning. thank you. >> good day. okay, let's head to coastal mississippi now. much of that area is dealing with flooding. it may be about to get much

worse. this hour, the storm surge is expected to roll in. david is on the beach in gulf port. david, how is it looking? >> reporter: well, carol, right now caught in the middle of traffic here. come on through. this road is supposed to be closed. this is all news media coming in because the blue lights are telling them to get off this road. the reason for that is right back here. the gulf of mexico, very churned upright now. what's happening is high tide is less than an hour away. already, we are -- we are seeing some of these waves hit the floodwall or hit the seawall and splash over it. a city park a couple blocks down has a lot of water in it now. their concern as we reach high

tide, we will see more of the gulf on highway 98 here. they have extended the curfew that was in effect for gulf port until noon. that tells you they think this storm is going to be around and causing problems for hours yet before they can allow people to be out of their homes. right now, i feel like i'm being attacked by a swarm of bees. the rain is coming in really strong. it's stinging as it blows up against you and hits your skin. but, every hour, i think i'm going to be able to stand here and tell you it seems to be getting better. you can look around me and see what's happening now. it's just the same as it's been since midnight last night. it just won't quit. carol? >> david mattingly, stay safe. thank you so much. let's turn to jennifer delgado. more trouble besides the rain. >> a tornado warning is in place

and going to expire at 9:15 central time zone. we are going to see the threat for tornadoes throughout the day in addition to the heavy rainfall. when we get the tropical systems coming through. we see the tornadoes popping up. i think we have the graphic. anywhere you are seeing the pink box is where the tornado warning is in place. if you notice, our reporter came out of gulfport. it is including gulfport. for the next few minutes, 9:15 central time. they are worried abt the flooding, but they need to pay close attention for the potential of tornadoes. we have a tornado watch in place until 4:00 for a good part of the northern gulf coast. that includes louisiana, of course, mississippi into alabama. you want to make sure you are in a steady structure, especially with this threat out there. >> thank you. you can get the latest information on hurricane isaac including satellite at

cnn.com/hurricane. if you are in the path of the hurricane, we invite you to share your photos and video at cnnireport.com. a rousing speech from nrnlg nnlg governor chris christie. if you are willing to stand-up with me for america's future, i will stand-up with you. if you are willing to fight with me for mitt romney, i will fight with you. >> it's not just about what he said. it's also about when he said it. in communities across the country. whether it's supporting a delaware nonprofit that's providing training and employment opportunities, investing in the revitalization of a neighborhood in the bronx, or providing the financing to help a beloved san diego bakery expand, what's important to communities across the country is important to us. and we're proud to work with all of those who are creating a stronger future for everyone.

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a lot happening this morning. it's 17 minutes past the hour. we are at the new york stock change to brang numbers down. >> good morning, this is what we have. pending housing sales rose jumping 2.4% last month. this is a forward looking indicator based on contract signing. it tells us what future sales reports may look like. economists thought the number would remain unchanged. pending sales posted 15 straight months of year over year increases. this follows a report from yesterday over home prices. a nice rebound, rising almost 7% between april and june. we may be looking at the long awaited recovery in housing.

near record low mortgage rates and pent-up demand. we have a long way to go. there's a lot of unsold homes on the market. it's tough for americans to get credit. >> i have heard a lot of it. i have been through it myself. thank you so much. now to the republican national convention. another big night on tap in tampa where vice presidential candidate paul ryan will address them in prime time. the release of the official platform. a list of the party's beliefs and goals over the next four years. one of the most controversial sections, abortion. the platform on that reads in part, quote, we assert the sangtty of human life and the unborn child has a right to life which cannot be infringe ld.

we support an amendment to the constitution to make clear that the 14th amendment's protections apply to unborn children. we oppose using public revenues to promote or perform abortion or fund organizations which perform or advocate it and will not fund or subsidize health care that includes abortion coverage. romney says they would allow abortion under certain circumstances, rape or incest or if it threatens the life of the mother. his running mate opposed abortion. he probably won't talk about that tonight. brooke is in tampa with a preview. good morning, brooke. >> reporter: good morning. this really is mitt romney's week to shine. it's the biggest audience before the november 6th elections. i was on the floor, steps away at the forum. i was talking to a bunch of different delegates saying who are you most excited to hear?

one is chris christie, number two is paul ryan. tonight is the night. the nominations are official. it's pitch time. this financial wonk/cat fish nood noodler. this is the pitch of his career. take a look. carol, are you with me? we were rolling a piece. >> we are having technical problems. we apologize. give us a preview of what he might say to the delegates tonight. >> you know, the issue is the economy. we heard from ann romney last night. it was her job to humanize her husband and i think talking to people here today, she achieved doing that. with paul ryan, everybody talks about the ryan budget, it's popular with the house.

he's the intellectual figure head. i would look for him to make a nod at the national debt clock. there are two. the national debt clock and the one that began ticking when they gavelled the convention to begin on monday. we are talking dollars and cents. as we have been looking at the polls, this is the one poll where, at least at the moment romney has been outpolling president obama when it comes to the economy and fixing it. a lot of americans want a plan and specifics. hopefully, we'll hear some of that from congressman ryan. >> thanks so much. live in tampa this morning. they live hundreds of miles from the gulf coast but you may still feel the effects of hurricane isaac, at the gas pump. prices are spiking. what do you got? restrained driver in a motor vehicle.

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now is your chance to talk about one of the big stories of the day. the question, did the gop make a case for mitt romney? tuesday night was the night voters were to fall in love with

mitt romney. chris christie and ann romney tried. >> this is important. i want you to hear what i'm going to say. mitt doesn't like to talk about how he has helped others because he sees it as a privilege, not a political talking point. >> ann romney was electric, strong and stunning. she got a standing ovation. matt called her mrs. america. yet, it was clear ann romney loves her husband but some say she missed an opportunity to tell us something about mitt we didn't already know. peggy noonan wrote, quote, she, ann romney, failed to make it new. chris christie, it took him almost 20 minutes to mention the presidential nominee, really. it seemed like a showcase for the take no prison style than on ode to romney.

>> leaders today have decided it's more important to be popular, to be popular, say and do what's easy. say yes, rather than say no when no is what is required. the people of new jersey stepped up, they shared in the sacrifice. you know what else they did? they rewarded politicians who led instead of politicians who pandered. >> oh, but still the crowd loved him. it really loved ann romney. but, did it love mitt? talk back question today, did the gop make a case for romney? facebook.com/carolcnn. responses later this hour. residents of new orleans sleepless night turns into a long day. they are suffering through hours of heavy rain. there is more rain to come. we'll take you live to new orleans and mississippi, next. c. there's natural gas under my town. it's a game changer. ♪

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good morning to you. i'm carol. it is 30 minutes past the hour. things are deteriorating in gulfport, mississippi. let's head there now. heavy winds, heavy rain. david mattingly, i can see what it looks like. tell us more. >> reporter: well, you don't want to know what it feels like. it's uncomfortable. the rain is blowing in in a way i have not seen all night. we are watching the rain come in tropical storm strengths. we keep keeping our eye on the ocean behind me. it's very angry right now.

we got a high tide coming up any minute now. we are already seeing some of the waves splashing up over the seawall behind me. that was expected. but, we just don't know exactly how high the storm surge is going to be going with the storm. we don't know how much rainfall we are going to end up with here. they revised the forecast to a foot of rain to possibly, in some areas, 18 inches of rain. that's because isaac just won't move. it just won't get out of here. officials thought they would be done with the storm by now and into the assessment and clean up faze by now. the city of gulfport extended their curfew which originally expired at 7:00. they have extended it until noon. if it doesn't let up, they may have to do it again. right now, everyone is sitting back wondering how much more does isaac have to dish out before it moves out and they can get back to putting things back

together. carol? >> david mattingly reporting live from gulfport. they are wondering the same thing in new orleans. south of new orleans, in plaquemines parish, we know of two families trapped in their homes. one man and his family, including a young baby, a year and a half old, i believe are stuck in their attic. you saw pictures there of rescues going on. martin savidge is in new orleans. yeah, looks pretty bad there, martin. >> reporter: i have to tell you, carol, this is about the absolute worst we have felt so far. this city has been buffetted all night. with sunrise, it's gotten harder and heavier to stand out here. this system here is coping according to the army corps of

engineers. they have had overtopping of a levee, it's created flooding in certain areas. one of the people trapped with his family and called in to a local affiliate was calling in talking about what they were doing and feeling in the attic of their home. take a listen. >> caller: right now, i'm in my attic with my wife and year and a half old baby. the local police came around about 2:00 in the morning and told us the levee broke. within an hour, water was coming up. i barely got my vehicle to the levee. the real levee is dry but the water came up so quick. it looks like we lost everything. >> reporter: carol your heart goes out. you can understand the terror they are feeling. we hope they have been rescued and among those pulled out by boat. down in that part of the state,

they know if help is going to come, it's going to be a neighbor. authorities say they can't get out until the storms sub size. it's going to be awhile, later today or tomorrow. >> martin savidge reporting and he's right about that. it's tough for pick-up trucks to get through, rescue workers to get through. that family in the attic are going to have to depend on their neighbors or maybe he did what he said he was going to do, shoot a hole through the roof and climb out on top. we'll keep you posted. wherever you drive in the united states, you are being affected by hurricane isaac. gas prices spiked nearly five cents overnight. people in the southeast, well, they are seeing larger jumps at the pump. we are at the new york stock exchange to tell us why. >> good morning, carol. this is a huge jump here. it's the biggest one day jump

since february, 2011. the average is $3.80. as we mentioned, we are seeing big jumps in the southeast. prices in kentucky and georgia jumped eight cents overnight and five cents in louisiana. the increases are actually bigger in the midwest which gets gas from pipelines in the gulf. we are talking about a 14 cent jump in ohio and double digit gains in indiana and michigan as well. what's pushing up gas prices so much here is the eight gulf coast refineries shut down or cut back production preparing for the storms. those eight refineries alone account for one eight of the refining capacity. it's about the law and supply and demand with less gas on the market. prices are rising. at this time, it's the areas that get their gas from the gulf coast. >> i know, gas prices are going up. i bet when i get outside today,

i will see gas prices higher than thismorning. this big oil platform, many located off the coast of grand isle, louisiana. that area is getting hit hard as is the port of new orleans. that's where rob marciano is at the heart of the mississippi river. what's it like? oh. >> reporter: this entire storm. the consistency of the storm is remarkable. up near lake pontchartrain gusts -- >> i don't know. i don't know if we are going to get rob. we have our satellite truck in the corner but the winds are so strong, nothing can protect that satellite truck. oh, i hear we got him back. rob? >> reporter: okay. yeah. another puff flipping the truck, as you mentioned. the wind is blowing a different

direction. waves on the mississippi slapping across the side where new orleans prosper is. it's going to stay where it is. you have a dent -- on the east bank, that's where we are having the issues. it's where people -- now -- >> yeah. i think we're going to wrap it up rob marciano. thanks for the little information you were going to pass along. we appreciate it. let's talk politics now. ann romney gave one of the biggest speeches last night. was it all about politics? >> tonight, i want to talk to you about love. >> you'll hear more from ann romney, a woman who become the nation's next first lady. first, let's check the numbers on wall street. you can see they are up just about five points. still beyond that 13,000 number.

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we heard from david mattingly say things are deteriorating rapidly in gulfport, mississippi. the governor of mississippi, phil bryant is with david now. take it away, david. >> reporter: thanks, carol. the governor telling me a few minutes ago, he didn't want to be sitting in an office watching the results come in. he wanted to be out here watching the elements. what do you think? >> we are looking at the surge. it could be 11 to 12 foot. we have high tide in 20 minutes, that's another four feet. wekds have 16 feet there. we are 25 feet above sea level. what worries me is the duration of the storm. we get the heavy rain and the surge that's blocking the rivers and tributaries. behind it, we are hearing 48 hours of rain.

inland is going to be a lot of flooding. we have to shift some resources there to prepare for that. >> reporter: you are talking about the storm staying here so long. everybody i talked to, with all the plans they had, everything was working fine until the storm stopped moving. >> we looked at it as a cat 2 but planned for a cat 3. they normally hit and move out. katrina, that surge, that 28 foot stayed here for six or seven hours. it's not the first time it's happened. again, if it stops or stalls here, this is a lot of water. we have water blocking highway 90 and highway 63. we are concerned about folks in the low laying areas. people may not be able to get out. we can't get boats in if someone is in there because of the hurricane conditions. we are working on that right now. 2200 people in our shelters. we have 361 shelters that will

take 200-mile-an-hour winds. we feel good about where we are. >> reporter: the important question, how many people do you think may have ignored the evacuation warnings and might be in the area and need help? >> it's hard to tell. last night, i was with the highway patrol looking at the neighborhoods. most of them, you could tell, people were gone. we are moving in highway patrol. we have an additional 65 and moving in the national guard to protect those homes so people have comfort in moving out and knowing they did the right thing. >> thank you very much. we have a long way to go on this. back to you, carol. >> thank you david and mr. governor. let's head to the weather center with jennifer delgo. >> when you are dealing with this moisture out there, the spin of the rotation in the air, you are seeing another area dealing with a tornado threat. this is a tornado warning. anywhere you are seeing this

pink shading, it's an area north of biloxi. roughly, about 120 miles to the north. it includes a green county as well as parts of southwest green county. this is in effect until 10:15 local time. we have been saying this all along, we are going to continue to see the threat for tornadoes throughout the afternoon. >> thank you, jennifer. we'll be back with much more after this. go-gurt? yep...doh. [ boy ] slurpably fun and a good source of calcium. dads who get it, get go-gurt. mom: ready t♪ go to rk? ♪

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love. and we built that. ann romney mentioned both. her goal to tell the nation about her husband, mitt romney. the man, the husband, the father and the leader. she was also at the republican convention with convincing women there's no republican war on women. many say ann romney was electric last night. decide for yourself. >> it's the moms who always had to work harder to make everything right. it's the moms of this nation, single, married, widows who hold this country together. we are the mothers. we are the wives. we are the grandmothers, the big sisters, the little sisters and

we are the daughters. you know it's true, don't you? [ applause ] >> i love you women! and i hear your voices. there's my favorite fans down there. you are the ones that have to do a little bit more and you know what it's like to work harder during the day to earn the respect at work then you come home at night and help with a book report. you know what the phone calls are like and long drives to see how people are doing. you know about the local emergency room and which doctors answer the phone call when you call at night. i know all about that. you know what it's like to sit

in that graduation ceremony and wond every how many days and years went by so quickly. you are the best of america. you are the hope of america. there would not be an america without you. tonight, we salute you and sing your praises. i'm not sure if men really understand this but i don't think there's a woman in america who really expects her life to be easy. in our own ways, we all know better. you know what? that's fine. we don't want easy. but the last few years have been harder than they needed to be. it's all the little things. the price at the pump, the grocery bills that get bigger.

school sports are one more bill to pay. it's the little thing that is pile up to become big things. the good jobs, the chance at college, the home you want to buy just get harder. everything has become harder. we are too smart to know there aren't easy answers, but not dumb enough to accept there aren't better answers. >> that was the line of the night, at least one of them. let's talk ann romney's speech. jackie is a republican delegate. welcome. >> thanks for having me. >> you are sitting in the audience. ann romney enters the stage, what goes through your mind? >> i was really excited. i know that everyone around me was excited. ann romney is someone that we don't feel like we know that well but we want to know herbert. i think last night was important. her showing us who she is. >> she talked a lot about being a mother.

did that resinate with you? >> yeah. i'm not a mother, but i am a daughter and, you know, it was important to hear that message. i have friends who are young moms. i thought her message was really good. even if you are not a mom yet, she spoke to you. you know they are challenge that is are going to come in your life. >> arn romney's other challenge was to make her husband appear the way she says he is, a warm, compassionate, strong leader, good husband, good father. did you find out anything new that you didn't know about mitt romney? >> i think she made him seem more human. a lot of people look at mitt romney as a politician. last night, we heard about mitt romney the man, the father, the husband. the way she feels about him and her faith in him and the sincerity in her voice and eyes when she talks about what she thinks he can do for america, i

think it made other people believe it, too. >> waiting for an anecdote, talking about how they met and how their young life in college was difficult. give me a funny romney story. she didn't share that. >> yeah. that's just not who the romney's are. i appreciate what she was willing to share. you know, some of the stories she did share about living in a basement and mitt romney when her parents weren't around. everyone can relate to those stories. >> i spoke with a republican last hour who talked about that part of her speech, they lived in a basement apartment and a desk on sawhorses. both of them come from wealthy backgrounds, he didn't quite buy that. >> i think they do. just because you have wealthy parents doesn't mean they are

necessarily providing everything for you. you know, that's how my life has been. i went to school, i got a scholarship, i worked to get through school. i think a lot of people can relate to that. even if your parents are wealthy, a lot of people do it on their own still. >> thank you for being with us this morning, we appreciate it. bye. >> we asked you to talk back. the big story of the day was ann romney and mitt romney. did the gop make their case? your response is next. e quiet s. ♪ [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] you may be an allergy muddler. try zyrtec®. it gives you powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because zyrtec® starts working at hour 1 on the first day you take it. claritin® doesn't start working until hour 3. [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] zyrtec®. love the air. join zyrtec® rewards. save up to $7 on zyrtec® products.

we asked total strangers to watch it for us. thank you so much, i appreciate it, i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money ? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense.

talk back question this morning, gid the gop make a case for romney? ann romney is an eloquent speaker. she effectively communicated his reasons for success in bids, government and life. this is like watching a late

night info mer shl. from bob, they made a clear, logical compelling case of romney as a strong leader. the demonstrated success at every level as a caring human and a person who can unite others. they made a better case for ann as first lady than president for mitt. thanks as always for your comments. thank you for joining me on news room today. cnn news room continues right now with ashleigh banfield. ♪

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